Category: Featured

On the heels of wrapping tapings for our 49th season, Austin City Limits presented our biggest evening of the year: the Austin City Limits Annual Hall of Fame Honors.  For our ninth annual celebration, we were thrilled to induct country superstar Trisha Yearwood and the late, legendary singer/songwriter John Prine. Friends and fans of both artists joined us at the Moody Theater to pay tribute to these music greats, both of whom clocked multiple episodes of the show. 

Following remarks from Austin PBS CEO Luis Patiño and longtime ACL executive producer Terry Lickona, the celebration of Trisha Yearwood kicked off the evening. “I was a fan of Trisha Yearwood the minute I heard that voice coming out of the radio,” proclaimed Don Henley, on hand to induct his longtime friend. “You can’t really wear out a CD, but I tried.” Yearwood riposted “To hear this singer talking about my singing is surreal!” She spoke about growing up watching the show: “It’s all about the music here, and that’s why I’m honored to be a part of it.” 

Jo Dee Messina was the first of Yearwood’s all-star guests to salute, belting out a rousing, audience-enhanced version of “She’s in Love With the Boy,” her buddy’s chart-topping signature tune. The honoree herself took the stage, asking for a round of applause for Lloyd Maines & the ACL All-Stars, our longtime HOF house band. Yearwood teamed with country great Ronnie Dunn for the beautiful duet “I’ll Carry You Home,” a gospel-soaked anthem which allowed both singer’s powerful voices to soar to the heavens for which the song reaches. Singer/songwriter Brandy Clark gave a moving intro, saying Trisha’s voice is in the lineage of “Patsy Cline, Linda Ronstadt and Karen Carpenter,” and delivered a stunning rendition of Yearwood’s classic ballad “The Song Remembers When.” Celebrated duo Brothers Osborne hit the stage to rock “Wrong Side of Memphis,” a song chosen for them by Yearwood herself. She returned to thank Clark and the Brothers, as well as her producer and song-picker Garth Fundis. She then brought Henley back up for a poignant performance of their fan-favorite hit “Walkaway Joe,” the duo sounding just as strong and soulful now as they did when they recorded the song in the early nineties. Yearwood and all of her pals then took one final bow together. 

When Terry Lickona returned to introduce John Prine, he noted that we intended to induct the songwriter’s songwriter in 2020, but the pandemic intervened. We were finally able to to do it in 2023, sadly two years after he passed; however, It didn’t diminish the joy of tonight’s celebration, as made clear by inductor Ethan Hawke. “To love John Prine and his songs is to be part of one of the greatest conversations in the world,” the actor said. “Say it with me – hello up there!” Prine’s widow Fiona, joined by sons Jack, Tommy, and Jody, accepted the award on the late songwriter’s behalf. “John considered Austin City Limits an important part of his career,” Fiona said. “Getting that call was a thrill every single time.” His youngest son Tommy followed in the tradition by taking center stage and singing “Souvenirs,” his favorite song by his dad. “Miss you, daddy,” he said as left the stage. Playing solo, Philadelphia indie rocker Kurt Vile performed “How Lucky,” a Prine deep cut he was lucky enough to record with its writer, just a few days before New Year’s 2020. Banjo in hand, singer/songwriter Allison Russell performed a moving take on “Storm Windows,” her daughter’s favorite John Prine cut. 

Recounting a story of a wild night when Prine met rockabilly wild man Ronnie Hawkins, singer Nathaniel Rateliff joined the party to sing the only slightly sardonic “All the Best.” Singer/songwriter Tyler Childers, who appeared with Prine on his final ACL appearance in 2019, reminded us all of the master’s ability to write a great honky-tonker, singing the wry “Yes, I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You.” Singular singer Valerie June arrived to tell a story about being asked to open for Prine on the The Tree of Forgiveness tour, calling her tourmate “an angel.” Broad hint conveyed, she put her heart and soul into “Angel From Montgomery,” making it a joyful celebration of gospel intensity, to the audience’s delight. June then gathered the extended family around her, with Rateliff, Childers, Russell, Vile, and Tommy Prine each taking a verse on the honoree’s classic song “Paradise.” Appropriately, Tommy sang the last lines solo in tribute to his father, and a big bow from the second half cast brought to a close a memorable ACL Hall of Fame. 

Part 1:

She’s in Love With the Boy – Jo Dee Messina

I’ll Carry You Home – Trisha Yearwood and Ronnie Dunn

The Song Remembers When – Brandy Clark

Wrong Side of Memphis – Brothers Osborne

Walkaway Joe – Trisha Yearwood and Don Henley

Part 2: 

Souvenirs – Tommy Prine

How Lucky – Kurt Vile

Storm Windows – Allison Russell

All the Best – Nathaniel Rateliff

Yes, I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You – Tyler Childers

Angel From Montgomery – Valerie June

Paradise – cast

Trisha Yearwood – vocals

Jo Dee Messina – vocals

Ronnie Dunn – vocals

Brandy Clark – vocals

T.J. Osborne – vocals, guitar

John Osborne – guitar, vocals

Don Henley – vocals

Tommy Prine – vocals, guitar

Kurt Vile – vocals, guitar

Allison Russell – vocals, banjo

Nathaniel Rateliff – vocals, guitar

Tyler Childers – vocals, guitar

Valerie June – vocals

The ACL All-Stars: 

Lloyd Maines – steel guitar, guitar

David Grissom – guitar

Chris Gage – keyboards, accordion

Bill Whitbeck – bass, vocals

Tom Van Schaik – drums

“Welcome to my fourth decade on Austin City Limits!” declared the legendary Bonnie Raitt after taking the stage at the Moody Theater in her fourth headlining appearance, for a taping that doubled as the final show of her most recent tour. A true statement – the beloved singer, songwriter, and slide guitarist previously taped in Seasons 9, 28, and 38. We’re always happy to welcome back the ACL Hall of Famer, who’s long been one of our besties, and this time she returned as a newly-minted multiple Grammy winner, including Song of the Year, thanks to her latest album Just Like That…. Raitt always brings her best to the ACL stage, making this, our final taping for Season 49, a treat on many levels. 

Joined by her crack band (bassist Hutch Hutchinson, drummer Ricky Fataar, keyboardist Glenn Patscha, and guitarists Duke Levine and George Marinelli), Raitt traveled through the past thirty years of her long career, drawing deep cuts from records recent and revered. In great voice and with her stinging slide guitar as potent as ever, she revisited her hit album Luck of the Draw for the blues-rocking “No Business” and her acclaimed Silver Lining for the defiant breakup tune “Back Around.” She plucked her sultry cover of INXS’s “Need You Tonight” from her last album Dig In Deep, and grabbed two classics from her 1989 breakthrough LP Nick of Time: the reggae-grooved “Have a Heart” and the wisdom-frosted title track. “I’ve been wanting to sing this for Austin City Limits for a while,” revealed Raitt. 

Of course she performed a generous helping of tunes from the acclaimed Just Like That…, including a pair of her recent Grammy-winning gems, the slinky Best Americana Song “Made Up Mind” and Song of the Year winner “Just Like That,” alongside the soulful ballad “Blame It on Me”and the bopping rocker “Livin’ For the Ones.” She dedicated the Grammy-winning title track to her longtime friend John Prine. “This is a song I wrote inspired by singing ‘Angel From Montgomery’ every night,” she noted about the deeply moving track. “This is for John.” She and the band ended the main set to big cheers with a medley of Rufus & Chaka Khan’s devilishly funky “You Got the Love” and her own groovy hit “Love Sneakin’ Up On You.” 

For the encore, Raitt invited her tourmate Sunny War onstage to sing and play guitar on a bluesy, primarily acoustic cover of Jackson Browne’s socially charged “World in Motion.” As she indicated earlier, no Bonnie Raitt show is complete without John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery,” and she sang it beautifully for her late friend in salute to his forthcoming induction into the ACL Hall of Fame this month. That was intended to be the final song, but no. “I don’t wanna stop playing,” Raitt asserted. “Are you kidding me?” The band then laid into a steamy cover of B.B. King’s “Never Make a Move Too Soon,” which Raitt herself cut with R&B legend Ruth Brown, in honor of “one of the greatest blues towns in America – Austin, Texas!” With the warm familiarity and unabashed love of old friends getting together, Bonnie Raitt delivered magic in her long-awaited Austin City Limits return, carving her name yet again in ACL history.

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Setlist:

Made Up Mind – Just Like That…

No Business – Luck of the Draw

Blame It On Me – Just Like That…

Back Around – Silver Lining

Just Like That – Just Like That…

Livin’ For the Ones – Just Like That…

Need You Tonight – Dig In Deep

Nick of Time – Nick of Time

Have a Heart – Nick of Time

You Got the Love/Love Sneakin’ Up On You – Rufus & Chaka Khan cover/Longing In Their Hearts

Encore:

World in Motion – Jackson Browne cover

Angel From Montgomery – Streetlights

Never Make A Move Too Soon – B.B. King/Crusaders cover

Bonnie Raitt – vocals, guitars, piano

Duke Levine – guitar, mandolin

George Marinelli – guitar

James “Hutch” Hutchinson – bass

Glenn Patscha – keyboards

Ricky Fataar – drums

Sunny War – vocals, guitar